Research Fellow in Implementation Science

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) has an exciting opportunity to appoint a Research Fellow in Implementation Science, with expertise in global health and qualitative research methods to develop and deliver implementation science studies in the context of infectious disease outbreaks in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The post-holder will work on studies that, for example, assess the effectiveness of specific approaches to outbreak response and the role of traditional healthcare structures in supporting outbreak preparedness and response policies, and/or seek to understand and overcome barriers to the adoption of proven approaches to outbreak response in a range of contexts. The post-holder will contribute to a variety of research projects over time. Current UK-PHRST projects use mixed methods approaches and the post holder will have a substantial role in conducting qualitative research and will support the implementation of various projects related to epidemiology, surveillance, microbiology and mental health for enhancing response to epidemics.

The post-holder will have a postgraduate degree, ideally have a doctoral degree in a relevant topic and expertise in conducting qualitative research in the LMICs. Further particulars are included in the job description.

The post is full-time 1FTE and funded until 31 March 2025. The salary will be on the Academic scale, Grade 6, in the range £42,875 – £48,691 per annum (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary “Wellbeing Days”. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available.

The supporting statement section should set out how your qualifications, experience and training meet each of the selection criteria. Please provide one or more paragraphs addressing each criterion. The supporting statement is an essential part of the selection process and thus a failure to provide this information will mean that the application will not be considered. An answer to any of the criteria such as “Please see attached CV” will not be considered acceptable.

Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.

General Information

The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST)

Launched in 2016, the UK-PHRST is an innovative government-academic partnership funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and co-led by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with a consortium of academic and implementing partners in the UK and internationally.

It is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of public health professionals and researchers with a novel integrated triple-remit of outbreak response, research and capacity strengthening to prevent and control epidemics of infectious diseases in countries eligible for UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). Both institutes contribute and are responsible for delivery of the UK-PHRST triple mandate across outbreak response, research and capacity strengthening, with LSHTM leading the research programme and UKHSA who lead the outbreak response.

The UK-PHRST has the following objectives:

1. Support partners in LMICs to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond rapidly to disease outbreaks, with the aim of stopping a public health threat from becoming a health emergency;

2. Identify research questions with partners and deliver rigorous research with partners that improves the evidence base for best practice in disease outbreak prevention, detection and response in LMICs;

3. Support the development of in-country capacity for an improved and rapid national response to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to disease outbreaks.

The UK-PHRST is a multidisciplinary team that includes a range of technical skillsets from across public health, core programme/operational management, and senior leadership.

UK Health Security Agency

At the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) our mission is to provide health security for the nation by protecting from infectious disease and external hazards. We are a trusted source of advice to government and to the public, focusing on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

Our mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. We will work to ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, that our staff are representative of the communities we serve and feel valued and enabled to play their part in delivering our work. Creating our working culture is an ongoing process which we are developing by listening and learning together, hearing and acting upon diverse voices and opinions to develop a common sense of identity and effective ways of working.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is renowned for its research, postgraduate studies and continuing education in public and global health.

Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

We embrace and value the diversity of our staff and student population and seek to promote equity, diversity and inclusion as essential elements in contribution to improving health worldwide. We believe that when people feel respected and included, they can be more creative, successful, and happier at work. While we have more work to do, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace, a community that everyone feels a part of, which is safe, respectful, supportive and enables all to reach their full potential.

To discover more about LSHTM please click here.

Our Values

Our values establish how we aspire to achieve our mission both now and in the future – demonstrating what it means to work and study at LSHTM. To find out more please click here.

Faculty Information

Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

The Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health (EPH) houses a large group of epidemiologists, demographers, statisticians and nutritionists working on issues of major public health importance in the UK and globally. EPH has approximately 400 staff members organised into four research departments:

• Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

• Department of Medical Statistics

• Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology

• Department of Population Health

The Faculty has a teaching programme consisting of ten MSc courses: Epidemiology, Demography and Health, Medical Statistics, Public Health in Developing Countries (run jointly with the Faculties of Infectious & Tropical Diseases and Public Health & Policy), Nutrition for Global Health, Reproductive & Sexual Health Research, Veterinary Epidemiology (run jointly with the Royal Veterinary College), Global Mental Health (run jointly with Kings College London – Institute of Psychiatry) and the Distance Learning courses in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials. The Faculty also has approximately 120 research students studying for an MPhil, PhD or DrPH degree.

The Dean of Faculty is Professor Elizabeth Allen

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology (IDE)

The Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology conducts research on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases of public health importance. Work is carried out in low-, middle- and high-income countries, including the United Kingdom, in close collaboration with partners in each country. The Department has groups working on maternal, neonatal and child health; international statistics and epidemiology; vaccines, outbreaks and humanitarian crises; and modelling. Research methods include ecological studies of variations in disease frequency in different populations, observational case-control and cohort studies to define risk factors for disease, randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of individual- and community-level interventions, and mathematical models to project the impact of public health interventions.

The Department Head is Professor Mark Jit.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal opportunities employer. We believe that when people feel respected and included, they can be more creative, successful, and happier at work. While we have more work to do, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace, a community that everyone feels a part of, which is safe, respectful, supportive and enables all to reach their full potential.